Similarities
by MuggleBeene
Summary: Ginny Potter has an impromptu afternoon with her goddaughter and ends up finding out that the two of them share some similarities.  Questions from the old photo albums leads to an interesting conversation about Harry.  Part of the Professor Muggle series.


**Similarities**

_2021_

Ginny Potter sat at her kitchen table, wrapped in an old robe of Harry's. The steam was rising from her tea as she opened _The Daily Prophet_ and turned immediately to the Quidditch section, quickly digesting the statistics from the games which she did not cover. When it came to the Wasps and the Harpies section she skipped that one, as she knew exactly what had happened in that match as she had covered it for _The Prophet_. After making her way through the page she swept the toast crumbs off the paper into a neat, tidy pile on the table for later. It was when the tea was almost gone that she realized that time was running out, her quiet morning was almost at an end. Soon Mrs. Namtamb would be there to discuss redecorating the house, and it wouldn't look good to meet her decorator wearing an old bathrobe.

After showering and changing into her normal clothes Ginny headed downstairs, her long hair still wet but somewhat manageable, and she put it into a ponytail as she walked around the house, straightening things and making sure all of her children's things were put away. It used to be easier when all the toys were kept in the playroom, but now that the kids were older it wasn't as easy. As Ginny bent down to pick up one of Al's books she remembered the time she'd held an honest to goodness grown up lady tea for some friends; everything had gone quite well until the woman from the Ministry sat on one of James' Auror toys, specifically the one how had a wand held aloft. Everything had broken down at that moment, the important guests she was hosting seemed to take offense and eventually the tea was as she originally wanted it, just Luna, Hermione and Angelina.

Ginny had just managed to put away the last of Lily's celebrity magazines when she heard the Floo. Walking into the large room with the fireplace she was happy to see the short, plump figure of Mrs. Namtamb.

"So glad you could make it, Mrs. Namtamb. Would you care for some tea?"

The elderly lady took off her pale green hat and clutched it in her white-gloved hands. "Yes, Mrs. Potter, that would be splendid. Shall I join you? Seeing you in the kitchen will provide some ideas on how you utilize the space."

"Um, sure. That would be great." Ginny led the way towards the kitchen, motioned for Mrs. Namtamb to have a seat at the table and set about making tea. When she turned around to address her guest Ginny noticed the woman already had out a notepad and was sketching with an enchanted quill; the woman glanced around the room as the quill delineated the measurements of the kitchen, the location of the cabinets and other amenities.

After taking one biscuit, the smallest one that did not contain chocolate, Mrs. Namtamb delicately took a sip of tea. "Mrs. Potter, we are only talking about a few rooms, correct? With a house this size I'm afraid the new rooms will completely disrupt the flow, it would be jarring for not only your family but guests, as well. With your husband's position as the Head of the Auror Department surely you would like to have a cohesive vision?"

Ginny smiled weakly. "I'm afraid my husband wants to keep most of the house in its present condition. We've made a series of improvements. You should have seen the place before, I'm sure you would have fainted."

Mrs. Namtamb patted Ginny's hand. "My girl, I have seen many a dreadful domicile in my days."

Before Ginny could respond the sound of the Floo startled both of the women. Ginny stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Namtamb, I'm not expecting anyone. Please excuse me." Ginny walked over to the Floo and quickly put her hand up to her mouth to stifle a laugh. There in her fireplace stood Melody Boyd and Virginia, Ginny's goddaughter, and Virginia looked madder than an irritated gnome.

Melody shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ginny, I should have owled but I need for you to watch Virginia for a few hours. Do you mind?"

The dark-headed girl rolled her eyes and shook her head, causing her braid to sway slightly. "Mother, I'm eleven now. I'm going to Hogwarts, I don't need a babysitter."

Ginny stepped forward quickly. "Its fine, Melody, don't worry." She turned to Virginia. "It's not babysitting; besides, I think you might like this. I have an interior decorator over, she's in the kitchen."

"Thank you, Ginny. I'll be back as soon as possible." Melody stepped back into the fireplace, took out a pinch of Floo powder and after saying her destination was gone in a wreath of green flame.

Ginny put her hand on Virginia's shoulder. "Come along, you're in time for tea."

Virginia sat down next to Ginny and watched the woman in the pale green robes and gloves. She listened as the woman described all of the changes that would need to be made to the kitchen, especially the colors that she recommended, bright orange and cream. The plans for the rest of Grimmauld Place were taken out of the woman's bag and spread upon the table, but Virginia didn't pay any attention whatsoever to the parchment, only the woman sitting across the table. After helping herself to the fourth biscuit with chocolate Virginia realized that the conversation had stopped and the woman was looking at her.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

Ginny smiled at Virginia. "Mrs. Namtamb asked you about your family, dear."

"Oh." Virginia quickly finished chewing. "I'm Virginia Boyd and Ginny's my godmother. My parents are Hank and Melody Boyd. I have an older brother and two younger sisters."

"Boyd, Boyd…" Mrs. Namtamb pursed her lips and gently shook a finger at Virginia. "Those names do sound familiar."

Virginia sighed. "Mum's the editor of _Witch Weekly_ and Dad teaches at Hogwarts."

"Oh Hogwarts." Mrs. Namtamb closed her eyes and tilted her face upwards. "So many happy days." She opened her eyes and smiled condescendingly at Virginia. "The wonderful time I spent at Hogwarts is never far from my mind. The beauty of the Ravenclaw…" Mrs. Namtamb stopped and cocked her head at Virginia. "What house are you in, young lady? Let me guess, I believe…"

"Slytherin." Virginia smiled at her with the fake smile she gave to her father whenever he asked her if she'd been good to her sisters.

"Oh, well, yes, Slytherin is as good a house as any." Mrs. Namtamb took a quick sip of tea. "And what does your father teach?"

Virginia looked her directly in the eye. "Muggle Studies. He wrote the textbook. He also wrote _My Wand is Useless_, maybe you've read it?"

Ginny stood up quickly. "Mrs. Namtamb, I think you've given me enough to think about for one meeting. Can I keep the plans to show Harry?"

Mrs. Namtamb stood, assured Ginny that it would be perfectly fine for her to show the plans to her husband, put on her hat and patted Virginia on the head as she made her way towards the Floo. After telling Ginny she would wait for her owl, Mrs. Namtamb took a small pinch of Floo powder and was soon gone from Grimmauld Place."

Ginny looked over to her goddaughter. "Well, what did you think of her?"

Virginia took a finger, pointed it towards her mouth and made retching noises.

"Virginia, that's not nice." Ginny looked at her for a moment and then both of them began laughing. "She's horrible, isn't she?"

"Yeah." Virginia nodded her head. "Complete fake. She's just trying to get you to spend a lot of money, you know. Plus she probably wants to tell all her friends that she was the decorator for the Potters. Blech."

Ginny nodded towards the kitchen. "Come on, I think there's a few chocolate biscuits left."

As the two looked at the plans that Mrs. Namtamb left Ginny watched her goddaughter; Virginia was quieter than usual. She wasn't a very talkative girl in the usual situations, more content to watch, but this time something seemed to be bothering her. After asking a few questions and receiving monosyllabic answers Ginny had enough.

"Right. Something's going on. I can tell, you know."

Virginia looked at her for a moment and then put her head back on the chair and stuck out her tongue briefly. "I'm the odd one out at home, Aunt Ginny. HR's got his stupid roommates from Hogwarts and Al an' the twins have each other. I don't like Quidditch, I'm not drooling over your youngest son like the twins because I know his feet stink and…and I'm in Slytherin. Nobody I know is in Slytherin! James, Hugo and Lily are in Gryffindor, Rosie's in Ravenclaw, HR and Al are in Hufflepuff…plus everybody else I know, nobody was in Slytherin. Why me?"

Ginny sighed. "Virginia, the Sorting Hat knows what its doing. After all these years it's never made a mistake. Slytherins aren't all bad, you know." From the look on Virginia's face Ginny could tell that she didn't believe her. "Your Uncle Harry was almost in Slytherin."

Virginia's head snapped around in shock. "Really? I never knew that."

"Well, you can't say anything. This is a Ginny swear. Promise?"

Virginia laughed. A Ginny swear was a special thing between her and her godmother, as whenever she wasn't around Ginny her brother and everyone else called her Gin. "I promise. So he was really almost in Slytherin? Why wasn't he?"

"He told the Sorting Hat he didn't want to be in Slytherin. It's not like that anymore, Virginia. Times have changed. You have to remember when this was; Hogwarts was a different place back then in regards to houses."

Virginia looked down at her teacup and began tracing the edge of the cup with her finger. "I still don't fit in. I'm probably adopted."

"You're definitely not adopted; I was there when you were born. I was the third person to hold you, did you know that? First person after your parents." Ginny watched her goddaughter, something more was going on besides being sorted into Slytherin. "It's not just being in Slytherin, is it, Virginia? Come on, now, it's just us here. Everybody else won't be home for hours."

"Well…" Virginia kept her head down and kept her finger moving around her teacup. "I feel left out a lot. HR's the only boy an' you know they twins. They take up a lot of everybody's time…"

Ginny closed her eyes briefly. "I think I understand. Since you're quiet everybody just seems to think of you at the end, is that what you're thinking?"

Virginia's head rose slightly. "How did you know?"

"We're more alike than you might think." Ginny stood up from her chair. "Come along, you. I've got some things you might be interested in."

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the room at the end of the hall on the third floor Virginia looked up strangely at her godmother. "I've never been in this room before."<p>

"That's good, because nobody but me is allowed in here. Not even Harry."

"Wow." Virginia's eyes were wide as Ginny opened the door. She followed her godmother into a small room with large windows and tried to take everything in at once. Shelves were lined with pictures and books, a broom hung on the wall alongside a Harpies jersey, but most of all she noticed the plants. A large plant sat in a pot next to the window, its leaves a golden hue, almost covering the back of the large chintz print chair. Other plants sat on shelves and one even hung from the ceiling next to the window, its weeping stems ending in a flourish of yellow and purple flowers.

"This is my special room, Virginia. This is where I keep some of my most prized possessions. That's my jersey and broom from when I played with the Harpies, but that's not the best thing in here. Let me make things a little more comfortable." Ginny took out her wand and conjured two very comfortable looking pillows and she sat down on one of then and motioned Virginia to follow suit.

"Uncle Harry's never even been in here, really?"

"Umm-hmm." Ginny nodded. "I'm going to show you some things. I think you'll like them." She took out her wand and levitated three large books over to her lap. "Let's see, yes, this is the first one." Ginny opened the book and smiled; it had been too long since she'd looked at the photo albums. "We'll skip the baby pictures, those aren't much fun. Ah yes, here. This was my fourth birthday. Tell me what you see."

Virginia looked at the picture. "It's Uncle Ron and Uncle George! Wait, is that…"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, it's my brother Fred, your Uncle George's twin. They're all running off to play Auror and…that's the moment when they tell me I can't play and I start to cry." Ginny flipped the page over, scanning to find the next picture she wanted to point out to Virginia. "Here we go, Ron's first broom ride. See if you can find me."

After watching the picture for a few moments Virginia put her finger on the right side of the picture. "There you are. Did you just throw something?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I was mad at Charlie for not taking me up on the broom, so I threw a rock at him. That landed me in a lot of trouble. Let's skip ahead for a bit." Ginny flipped the pages until she reached the end of that album and then picked up another. "Ah, here we go. The day Ron went to Hogwarts."

Virginia watched Ron stand next to Fred, George and Percy and then right before the film was finished Ginny rushed into the frame only to have the picture end before she could stand next to her brothers. "What happened?"

"Mum forgot that I wasn't in the picture. Look at the next one. Here I am next to Ron, and I'm not to happy, am I?"

Virginia laughed and then stopped suddenly. "You look really mad. Sorry."

"It's quite all right, I was mad. Let's skip ahead some more." Ginny flipped pages and stopped. She didn't say anything for a while, instead she just watched the picture complete its action and then loop back again to the beginning.

"Uncle Harry looks scrawny!" Virginia laughed as she saw Harry and Ron sneak up on Hermione while Fred and George posed with her. "Where were you?"

"Your Uncle was scrawny back then, that's why Mum always tried to feed him every second of the day. Me? Well, take a look in the corner."

Virginia directed her attention to the corner of the picture where she saw Ginny sitting next to a tree. "Aunt Ginny, were you staring at Uncle Harry?"

Ginny raised her hands. "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid."

For a moment both of them were silent until Virginia looked over to the picture and then to her godmother. "You felt left out a lot, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. Here, take a look at the rest of these." Ginny handed Virginia the photo album. "I'm going to go get that tin of fudge Hannah Longbottom brought over the other day. Hang a proper lunch; I think it's appropriate for the occasion."

Ginny took her time in the kitchen; locating Hannah's fudge had only taken a moment but she wanted to give Virginia some time to look at the photos. She knew it had to be hard for her goddaughter, especially as she was sorted into Slytherin. After pouring two large glasses of milk Ginny levitated them up to her room, fudge tucked safely under her arm. When she arrived Virginia was on the third photo album.

After setting the fudge between them and handing Virginia her milk Ginny popped a piece of fudge into her mouth. "Ummm…Hannah makes the best fudge." She looked over to Virginia, but the girl wasn't diving into the fudge like she expected. "Something on your mind?"

Virginia looked directly at her godmother. "You've always loved Uncle Harry, haven't you?"

Ginny swallowed quickly, the second piece of fudge almost caught in her throat. "Yes, yes I have, dear. What brought that on?"

"These." Virginia pointed towards the third album. "You were still at Hogwarts then, weren't you? And it was the…the…he was back then, wasn't he?"

Ginny nodded slowly. "Yes, it was that time. It was when all of the horrible things were happening, and…well, you know that story, don't you?"

"Yeah, I've read the books." Virginia noticed Ginny's raised eyebrow. "I raided Dad's book collection. I'm not into Quidditch and wands and stuff."

"And what are you into, Virginia?" Ginny watched as her goddaughter finally reached for a piece of fudge. "What do you like to do? Everybody's got something that really makes them happy. For me it was flying, what is it for you?"

After a big drink of milk Virginia looked down briefly and then right into Ginny's eyes. "I like to draw and paint. Dad says I've been doing it forever. I…I want to be an artist."

"I think that's wonderful, Virginia. You know those paintings at Hogwarts didn't paint themselves. And your Dad is right; you have been drawing for a long time. I even have one of your early pieces. Maybe it'll be worth a fortune someday. Hold on, I have it over on that shelf." Ginny took out her wand and levitated a picture in a frame over to their spot on the floor. "Yes, I think I dated it…yes, you were three." She handed the picture to Virginia.

"You framed it? Really?" She looked down at the picture and saw a series of stick people and a large blob. "What is it?"

Ginny laughed and leaned over. "It's a picture of our families. That's Harry and me, you can tell from my red hair, and that's Lily and Albus. Over there's your mum. She wasn't happy when she saw how round you made her, but I told her kids exaggerate. That's your dad, you can tell by the glasses, and that's HR."

"Where are the twins? And James? What's this blob thing?"

Ginny laughed. "Well, your mum was pregnant with your sisters, that's why you made her so round. As for the blob, that's a dragon. It's so big because you said it ate James because he was naughty. If I remember correctly he played a prank on you so you were mad at him."

"Sounds like James." Virginia reached over and grabbed a piece of fudge. "So you really think I can be an artist?"

"I do, Virginia. Everybody is different and everybody is good at something. Sometimes it just takes some time to figure it out."

Virginia cocked her head at her godmother. "Just like it took Uncle Harry a long time to figure out he loved you?"

"Oooh…see, you are in Slytherin for a reason." Ginny watched her goddaughter. "That's not a bad thing, Virginia. Slytherin's are perceptive. Yes, it did take your Uncle Harry a long time to figure it out, and then when he did we didn't have too much time together at first."

"Because of the war?"

"Yes, because of the war." Ginny sighed deeply. "Your Aunt Hermione says that I've loved Harry for a very long time, even before I realized it and I think she's right. At first he just saw me as your Uncle Ron's little sister. It was hard, Harry, Ron and Hermione were always together, talking about things, always having their secrets and I was left out. And when I dated other boys…yes, wipe that shocked look off of your face, I dated other boys…when I dated other boys it never felt right. It was nice, at times, but it just wasn't right. And then after the war, well, your Uncle Harry took a long time to recover from everything and I didn't want to just be the girl on the sidelines anymore."

"You wanted to be in the middle of the picture." Virginia took a drink of milk. "Not on the edges anymore."

"Very perceptive." Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Smart girl. But you know what I found out after being in the middle of the picture for a while? It's lonely, Virginia. It's better to have someone with you in the middle of the picture. But…look at me, Virginia…everyone has their time in the middle of the picture. It comes sooner or later, but eventually it will come for you, too."

"Like this?" Virginia turned the photo album towards Ginny and stifled a laugh. There, right in the middle of the picture, was Ginny in her bra and knickers, frantically rushing towards the camera to block out the view.

"I forgot that was in there." Ginny took the photo album and closed it. "That was on our honeymoon. Your Uncle Harry was very proud of himself for that one. I got him back, don't worry."

"Ginny! You home?" Harry's voice echoed from downstairs, causing the two occupants of Ginny's room to look at each other.

Ginny stood up. "Come on, we'd better go downstairs before he comes up here. Now don't say anything to him about the pictures; remember, it was a Ginny swear."

* * *

><p>Harry Potter stood at his kitchen table, robes filthy from his Auror field assignment, and absentmindedly picked biscuits off of the tray while he examined the plans from Mrs. Namtamb. Quickly flipping through the papers he realized that the project was a lot larger than he'd anticipated, much larger than what he and Ginny had agreed upon. When he heard footsteps enter the kitchen he wasn't very happy.<p>

"Ginny this is too much; I don't want all this crap. Bloody hell, do you know how much this will cost?" He looked up from the papers but instead of seeing Ginny he saw Virginia. "Oh, oh, sorry, Virginia. Didn't know you were here."

"It's ok, Uncle Harry." She walked over and leaned over the table next to him. "They are crap and so was the lady."

"Virginia Lane, that's not very nice." Ginny took one look at Harry and shook her head. "She is right, the woman was crap. Harry, how many times have I told you to take off your robes before you enter the kitchen when you've had field work? Honestly."

"Yes, dear, you're right dear, please don't hex me dear." Harry said it in a very flat tone and elbowed Virginia, causing her to laugh.

"Putting Virginia in the middle isn't going to help you, you know." Ginny walked over and gave Harry a quick kiss. "And you smell awful! What were…don't tell me, I don't want to know. Come down when you've cleaned up."

Harry shrugged, grabbed the last biscuit off of the plate and headed upstairs. After putting the glasses in the sink Ginny looked over to Virginia. "He never learns. I've been telling him to clean up after himself for years." Ginny cocked her head at her goddaughter, who was laughing. "It's not funny."

"I know, Aunt Ginny. I was just thinking about his office at the Ministry. Dad's taken me there a couple of times and it's a horrible mess."

"Better there than here." Ginny stood by Virginia and picked up the plans that Mrs. Namtamb had sketched for the kitchen. "You really think these are crap?"

"Yeah, I do." Virginia shook her head. "Orange paint, with your hair? You'd look like Uncle Ron when he wears his Chudley gear."

"Oh dear Merlin, not that." Ginny sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't do anything. I don't know; James will be seventeen next year…well, I'll talk about it with your uncle later. Now Virginia, do you have a room of your own? Not your bedroom, someplace else?"

Virginia thought for a moment. "Not really. I'd like someplace that I could paint, someplace with big windows an' maybe some plants like yours."

Ginny nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe…you do have a birthday coming up eventually. I'll keep that in mind. Until then I know my mum would like some company out at The Burrow on occasion. There is the old chicken coop out there. Now before you say anything it would have to be cleaned out first, and you'd have to talk to your parents about it, but it would be a start. Hold on a moment." Ginny went over to the cupboard and pulled down a small piece of pottery with a misshapen lid on top. She opened the pot and pulled out two Galleons, a Gnut and a few Sickles and then handed them to Virginia. "You can't paint if you don't have the proper materials. Don't worry, I'm your godmother, I'm allowed to do these things. I'll tell your mother when she gets here."

Virginia looked at the money in her hand and then gave Ginny a hug. It was while the two were hugging that the sound of the Floo caught their attention. Before Ginny could ask who was there Melody Body walked in holding her son HR and Albus Potter by their ears.

"Do you know where I found these two?"

"Do I want to know?" Harry stood in the doorway with a towel around his shoulders, drying off his wet hair. "Should I just send them to Azkaban now and save us some time?"

"Very funny, Harry." Melody gave each of the boys a pinch on the ear and set them free. "I found them in a Muggle cinema! They told me they were going to be in Diagon Alley all day, but nobody had seen them! If it wasn't…oh, just take them before I do something."

As Albus and HR started explaining and making excuses Gin sat back and watched the fireworks, put the money from her godmother into her pocked and was glad not be in the middle of that picture.


End file.
